Study Cautions About Feeding Teas and Botanical Supplements to Infants

A study by the Food and Drug Administration of infant-feeding practices found 9 percent of infants were given dietary botanical supplements and teas in their first year of life. The most common reason mothers fed supplements and teas to their infants were to help with fussiness, digestion, colic and relaxation. Although these parents fed their infants the products as a remedy, the products have not been evaluated by FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The study, “Feeding of Dietary Botanical Supplements and Teas to Infants in the United States,” published in the June 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online May 2), drew on surveys of 2,653 healthy mothers with term or near-term infants between 2005 and 2007.

The study found mothers who fed their infants dietary botanical supplements and teas were more likely to have used such products themselves, and were more likely to breastfeed. Hispanic mothers were more likely to give infants these products than white mothers. Many of the supplements and teas were marketed and sold specifically for infants.